Family Matters
by Brigid
Summary: Seven seeks out Tom and B'Elanna for some advice


Title: Family Matters

Author:Brigid

Email:brigidandmike@juno.com

Rating:[G] 

Series:Voyager

Part:1/1 

Synopsis:Seven seeks out Tom and B'Elanna for some advice.

Entered in the Fall, 2002 Mixed Doubles Contest at: http://blake.prohosting.com/~annerose/

Disclaimer: Paramount owns the characters. I thank them for letting me play with them.

Date:August 2002

Thanks to Ann for the beta, LA for the title and Barb for "Letters to Neelix." 

__

Dedicated to harmonic convergence.

****

Family Matters

Life in the Paris household was chaos as always. The Paris children, 5-year-old Miral and 3-year-old Robbie, chased Tom around as he popped out from behind doors and furniture shouting "Boo." He was wearing a pair of his underwear on his head while the remaining laundry lay unfolded in the middle of the family room. B'Elanna, his wife and mother of the two seekers, was watching with an incredulous look on her face. In her arms she held the freshly bathed and dressed Thomas Bareil Kim. The 18-month-old boy was wiggling madly, anxious to get down and join the mayhem. 

"Thomas Eugene Paris, what are you doing?" his exasperated wife asked.

"I'm the monster from the Delta Quadrant and I'm going to get all the good boys and girls," Tom intoned as he took his namesake from his wife, tossing him in the air and catching him expertly. The dark eyes danced in glee as the little boy emitted a symphony of giggles, his Bajoran nose ridges wiggling in delight. This was Tom's godson and Tom couldn't have been more delighted, not only to be allowed the privilege of being a godfather, but also that Harry and his wife, Celes Tal, had been so blessed. In fact they were off-world now for a little time alone before their second child arrived, a little girl who was due to put in an appearance in two months. 

B'Elanna's response was cut off by an insistent ringing of the doorbell. Tom put his wiggling bundle down to answer. He was surprised to see Seven of Nine and a Vulcan male. "Mr. Paris," Seven began with an uncertain look at his headdress, "have we caught you at a bad time?" 

"Seven, uh… no…, of course not, come on in," Tom answered. He pulled the offending garment from his head and hid it behind his back leaving his blond hair sticking up in an interesting pattern. "B'Elanna, we've got company. Seven's here."

His wife entered carrying the basket of laundry with a look of astonishment and genuine pleasure on her face. "Seven, it's been quite a while. How are you?"

"I'm fine, Commander Torres. May I introduce my husband, Rovok?" Seven replied evenly.

"I'm very pleased to meet you, Rovok. And it's 'B'Elanna'. I'm off duty, Seven." 

Seven nodded and turned to Tom, "Rovok, this is Tom Paris. He writes… holonovels."

"Hey, it's an honest profession and lets me stay home with my kids. Pleased to meet you, Rovok. Come on in and sit down. Can I get you some coffee?" 

Tom and B'Elanna were both trying to hide their surprise. Seven had been very remote since Voyager's return from its seven year trip to the Delta Quadrant. She and Chakotay had stayed together briefly; then she'd worked at Starfleet Headquarters for a short while. After that she'd abruptly left for Vulcan and no one on Earth had heard from her for over three years. Tuvok would occasionally mention that she was 'satisfied' with her life on Vulcan, but nothing more. 

"I have no need to ingest a stimulant at this time," Seven replied to Tom's question while her companion nodded in agreement. 

"Okay," Tom continued uncertainly, "Let's go in the family room and sit."

Miral had marshaled the troops admirably and there were several places to sit in the family room now and both small boys had been sent to a corner with the toys that normally graced the middle of the floor. Seven allowed herself to smile at the sight of the children. "Miral, I have not seen you since you were very small. I am Seven of Nine, an old acquaintance of your parents." 

Her introduction was greeted with an equally formal response, "I know. I've seen pictures of you. My daddy has told me a lot about you."

Seven turned to give Tom a questioning look. 

"All good, Seven, I promise," he answered sheepishly. Anxious to change the subject he placed his hand on his son's head. Both boys had been sidling closer to Tom at the unexpected appearance of strangers. "And this is our son, Robbie, who just turned three." Robbie nodded from his safe spot attached to and behind his father's leg. 

Tom bent over to pick up the baby who was planning on attaching himself to his other leg. "And this is Tommy Kim, Harry and Tal's little guy." Dark eyes met blue without a trace of fear although he did seek his thumb for comfort. With the desired object placed firmly in his mouth he stared at the tall blond woman with renewed interest. 

"He looks exactly like Ensign, I mean, Lt. Kim, doesn't he?" Seven asked softly.

"Yes, he does. Tal complains constantly that she did all the work and the kid came out looking exactly like Harry except for the nose." Tom laughed.

"Is Lt. Kim here also?" 

"No, we're baby-sitting while they take a little vacation. Their second baby is due in two months and they wanted some time alone, just the two of them," Tom explained as he set the toddler down again. Both boys ran off to play while the grown-ups sat in the now empty chairs.

"What brings you to Earth, Seven?" B'Elanna's curiosity got the better of her.

"Rovok is attending the conference on trans-warp theory and I decided to accompany him."

"The conference in Durban?"

"Yes."

"I'm one of the presenters at that conference," B'Elanna replied.

"I know, Rovok is an engineer with the Vulcan Science Ministry and was anxious to meet you. He was pleased when I said I could introduce you."

Seven's companion finally spoke. "I have greatly admired your work, Commander Torres. Your theories are revolutionary and unconventional. I look forward to your presentation and the possibility of learning more about your work."

B'Elanna smiled as she answered, "I think my presentation will be a little unconventional too."

"Hey," Tom laughed as his arm circled his wife's shoulders, "I wrote a great holoprogram for your demonstration. It'll knock their socks off."

With a roll of her eyes, B'Elanna answered, "Socks, I can deal with. I just hope it leaves their underwear where it belongs." She laughed as Tom surreptitiously ran his hand over his close cropped hair to be sure he really had removed all of his 'costume.'

Their visitors were looking perplexed as the Paris children came over to ask, "Daddy, can we play outside. Pleeeaaassse!"

"Okay, go on out. Just stay where I can see you." Tom answered. 

They lived on an acre of land in an arid area east of Starfleet headquarters. Tom wanted the children to be able to experience the outdoors but still be close enough for B'Elanna to transport to work and back. His own office was in the rear of their home, complete with a holoprogramming lab. The success of his holonovels allowed him the financial security to work while staying home with their children. As with all parents, finding time to enjoy each other was a frustrating experience, but preparing B'Elanna's presentation had given them hours of pleasure together. 

As the adults continued their conversation Tom felt a small tug on his pants. Looking down he saw his godson silently looking up at him with a very large tear running down his cheek. Tommy didn't talk much yet, but Tom knew exactly what was wrong. "Hey, buddy, did they go off and leave you?" he asked as he pulled the small boy onto his lap. 

"Out?" Tommy asked his doting uncle.

"In a little while, okay?"

The tiny mouth started to tremble, "Play?"

It was more than Tom could take, "Okay, we'll go play. Seven, would you like to come outside with me and leave the engineers to their engineer talk?" Tom had noticed that Seven was far more interested in the children than in trans-warp theory.

"Yes, I'd like that very much." Seven replied. 

B'Elanna and Rovok were already engrossed in their conversation and barely acknowledged their departure. 

Once outside the children played on the swings and jungle gym that Tom had constructed for them. The family dog, Neelix, ran back and forth between them, barking madly. Little Tommy threw himself stomach first on the low swing so he could feel the motion without having to sacrifice his connection to the ground. Tom had to laugh at his caution; this was definitely Harry's kid.

He looked again at his companion. She was still a strikingly beautiful woman. Her clothes were far more modest than those she'd worn on Voyager. A soft tunic in a very neutral shade of taupe atop flowing pants accented her height. The gentle breeze allowed the garments to highlight her stunning figure and make it even more alluring than the infamous cat suit she'd worn in the Delta quadrant. But her eyes were her most striking feature and they held a lot of longing right now as she watched the children play.

"How've you been, Seven? I guess I didn't even know you were married."

"We have only been married a short time. Tuvok and T'Pel were the witnesses."

"He seems like a nice guy."

"He is well-disciplined and our life together is quite adequate."

"You sound like a Vulcan, Seven. What about the sparks, the passion? Surely you don't just meditate together."

Seven gave Tom the first genuine smile he'd seen from her as she answered, "Our sparks are adequate also, Tom. We are very compatible." 

"Glad to hear it. Wouldn't want you to be living a dull life now."

"We are content."

"Content, see, now that sounds dull. Don't you ever miss the excitement we had on Voyager? Wouldn't you like to be able to relive some of those heart-stopping moments we had in the DQ?" Tom asked.

With a gentle shake of her head Seven answered him, "Our lives on Voyager were interesting but no, I do not wish to be back there. There was no pattern to our days, you could not expect any mission to go as planned because they never did…. nothing was logical."

Tom laughed as he answered her, "But it was fun and we learned a lot and we had a good time, sometimes… and we were among friends, but it was more like family."

"Yes, Voyager was like a family, a very dysfunctional family." Seven replied evenly but with a smile. 

"Glad to see you haven't lost that sense of humor, Seven." Tom responded with a grin. "Have you and Rovok thought about starting a family?"

Seven answered cautiously, "No, my Borg implants make that impossible." 

"I thought you and Doc had that all worked out."

Her voice held a hint of sadness as she said, "It seems even the doctor did not have sufficient knowledge of the Borg for that."

"I'm sorry," Tom answered with genuine compassion, "Kids are great, they keep you young."

"Or age you prematurely," she said dryly as Tom retrieved the tiny power nodule from a toy phaser that young Tommy was getting ready to sample. Seven spoke again, hesitantly, "I have found happiness and love with Rovok and now I find that I would like to share that love with another. But perhaps it would diminish our love." 

Her unasked question was obvious to Tom. "Kids make your love grow, not divide."

"That is what Tuvok says. Can it grow without children?"

Tom was prevented from answering right away by the necessity of rescuing Neelix before he bit into a light sick that Robbie was waving dangerously close. The task gave him time to carefully formulate his reply. 

"Of course it can," he began, "but if you have that kind of love to share and children are something you both want, why don't you consider adopting a child? There are agencies looking for stable parents for the orphans left after the Dominion War. You learned to love the kids on Voyager, Mezoti and the twins, Icheb and Naomi. That wasn't hard, was it?" 

"They belonged to someone else." Seven replied.

"All children belong to themselves. That's the hardest part, loving them enough to let them become the people they were destined to be." Tom spoke from experience. His father had learned to accept the man that Tom had become, but it wasn't without some painful rifts over the years.

"We have discussed adoption." Seven hesitated before asking, "Why did you and Commander. Torres decide to have children?"

Tom gave careful thought to his answer, "Until you've had some one or some thing that you're totally responsible for, you haven't experienced the full range of human emotions. Plus, we had a lot of love that we wanted to share. It seemed right, somehow, to share it with children." 

Robbie came running over as they talked, "Daddy, we're hungry! Isn't it time for lunch yet?"

"Lunch! You just had breakfast!" Tom responded.

"No we didn't. That was hours ago," the child replied testily.

"3.25 hours ago," Miral reminded them.

"Well, I guess, now we know. Are you hungry, Tommy?" Tom asked the small boy who was happily trailing behind the older children.

"Hungy," he repeated and motioned to be picked up, which Tom quickly did.

"Okay, I guess it's time for lunch, then. Care to stay and have lunch with us, Seven?"

"I do not wish to put you to any trouble," the former Borg replied.

"It's no trouble. Peanut butter and jelly for them and we'll replicate our meal. Anything you'd like," Tom offered magnanimously.

"Actually, it has been a long time since I have had one of your peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I would like to try it again." 

"What, no PBJ on Vulcan?"

"I'm afraid the Vulcan palate is a little sensitive for most human foods, including PBJ," Seven replied with another smile.

As they entered the house Miral asked, "Daddy, can we show Seven our physics experiment?"

Tom flushed a bright red, "No, I don't think we have time for a physics experiment today, kids."

"Please, Daddy, that was so much fun." Robbie added his plea to Miral's.

B'Elanna heard the commotion and entered the kitchen area with Rovok. "I'm not sure today would be a good day for the physics experiment either." She gave Tom a dangerous look.

Curiosity got the better of Seven and she asked, "What kind of physics experiment involves eating lunch?"

B'Elanna started to laugh at Tom's obvious discomfort. "Are you going to tell them or shall I?"

"I'll tell them, Mommy!" Miral danced in glee, "I'll tell."

At a nod from her now giggling mother, Miral began, "Daddy was showing us about gravity by dropping bread and peanut butter on the floor." 

"It wasn't quite that simplistic," Tom argued, "and I was trying to keep Robbie from crying when he dropped his sandwich on the floor."

The confusion on Seven's face was becoming more pronounced so Tom relented and began the story while B'Elanna settled the children around the table and started preparing their lunches. "I had fixed Robbie a piece of bread and peanut butter and he dropped it. The bread landed peanut butter side down and Miral said it always landed that way when Robbie dropped his bread so I decided to see why that was."

B'Elanna continued the story, "Tom thought it would be an interesting experiment to test and see just what the ratio was of bread landing peanut butter side up to peanut butter side down. When I came in there were about a dozen pieces of bread on the floor and Tom was on the chair getting ready to drop another one from about eight feet. It seems that the bread rotates as it falls and which side is up depends on the height it was dropped from." 

"It was a great experiment," Miral assured Seven, "we tested several theories and cleaned up all our mess afterwards."

"It sounds fascinating," Seven assured Miral without a trace of a snicker although Tom was certain she was having a hard time containing herself. Rovok raised his eyebrow in the traditional Vulcan gesture of appreciation of an interesting observation. 

Lunch was a happy, boisterous occasion with both guests enjoying the experience of eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with the children and listening to the tales that Tom and B'Elanna told. The children had a few to tell on their parents also. It seemed Daddy had taught Robbie to pee outside but forget to tell him that it was only when no girls were around. The laughter had barely subsided over that story when Miral reminded them that on Mommy's day off they had to be really careful when they were going in to wake up Mommy and Daddy cause sometimes they were playing and Mommy threw things. This time it was B'Elanna's turn to blush. 

After the meal, Seven and Rovok agreed that it was time to return to their hotel. "Why don't you come back for dinner tomorrow night?" Tom asked. "Harry and Tal will be here and I know they'd be glad to see you and to meet Rovok."

Seven looked at her husband who had a very pleased expression on his face, for a Vulcan, and she smiled too. "I would like that… I mean we would like that… very much. Is there anything I can do or bring?"

"Well, I'd say bring the wine but we know how well wine agrees with you so just bring yourselves," Tom laughed, "We'll provide everything else. Even the entertainment."

"Thank you, Tom and B'Elanna. It was a pleasure to meet you. Seven has spoken so highly of both of you and I am very pleased to finally make your acquaintance. Commander Torres, I am looking forward to the conference next week." Rovok added.

"I'm looking forward to it too. But I especially like the fact that it's on Earth this year. I can transport home every night." B'Elanna admitted. 

"I cannot imagine how you can possibly leave them every day to go to work," Seven said softly as she looked at the three small bodies all tangled together on the floor watching cartoons on Tom's old television set. 

"It isn't easy, but I've got a great sitter who loves them as much as I do," B'Elanna answered.

Tom put his arm around B'Elanna hugging her to him as he kissed the top of her head. "Some days are a little hairy but we've realized that they are the most important things in our lives and we'll do what we have to, to make life the best for them."

"Not unlike our lives on Voyager," she whispered before recovering herself. "Including the physics experiments in the 'kitchen'," she raised an eyebrow at her jest.   
  
"Yeah, well, we'll keep that little observation out of the next "Uncle Neelix" transmission, but you're basically right--it's not so different. And he'd **_love_ **what I've got planned for the summer. We're going to be raising chickens." Tom wiggled his eyebrows and grinned. 

"I don't even want to know what that entails." B'Elanna shook her head ruefully as she turned to the pile of children, "Miral, we're going to walk Seven and Rovok to their flyer, we'll be right back."

"Stay where I can see you," Miral answered sagely without taking her eyes off the TV. Her brother nodded in agreement at the wisdom of her advice. Baby Tommy was already fast asleep with his head in Miral's lap.

Shaking their heads the 'parents' continued out. 

***

"Now what do you suppose that was really about?" Tom asked as Rovok's sleek flyer took off. 

B'Elanna turned to him with a look of concern. "Seven and Rovok just found out that she can't have children. She isn't taking the news well at all. Rovok says she feels like she has failed him by not being able to produce offspring." 

"Seven told me about it. She really does seem down."  
  
"Rovok thought seeing friends might help. Of course, he didn't know we'd have a houseful of kids who might make things a lot worse." 

Tom nodded but B'Elanna could see that his mind was a million miles away. His next remark told her it was on Bajor. "I suggested that they look into adoption. There are a lot of planets that are still feeling the pain of the Dominion war. Harry and Tal have mentioned the orphanages on Bajor and how many kids are still there."

"I'm glad you said that, Rovok had suggested it too, but Seven wasn't sure she could love someone else's child."

"Of course she could. Look at the relationship she formed with the kids on Voyager. And now I think she really _knows_ what it's like to love someone. I think she could do that."

"Well, it's their decision so don't try to push anything down their throats." After a short pause she asked, "Should we invite Kathryn and Chakotay for dinner too?"

"I think they would like that. I'm assuming Chakotay and Seven parted on civil terms."

"I guess so, he never mentions her."

They wandered back into the house expecting to find three napping children. Instead they were greeted by screams emanating from their eldest offspring. "Robbie! Don't! I'm going to tell Daddy!" 

Tom and B'Elanna entered their family room and found Miral backed up against a wall and Robbie threatening her with a hand covered with… Tom looked at B'Elanna and said, "nah, it couldn't be. He wouldn't…"

His question was answered by Miral's heated explanation: "Tommy pooped and Robbie got some on his hands and now he says he's a monster and he's going to get it on me…"

With a rueful look at his lovely wife Tom asked, "Do you want the pooper or the monster?"

"I'll take the pooper, I might hurt the monster," B'Elanna dead-panned.

With that, one of Starfleet's chief propulsion designers and one of Earth's most acclaimed novelists waded into the battle of parenthood. 

The End


End file.
